C/2020 K6 (Rankin)

Metadata

Parameter Value
Designation C/2020 K6 (Rankin)
Type C
Perihelion (tp_cal, UTC) 2021-09-15T13:36:00.020160Z
Orbit solution date (soln_date, UTC) 2023-06-30T22:15:05Z
Obs used 180
NEO -
M1 12.000
K1 5.000
PC -
Discovery observation (MPC, UTC) 2020-05-26T08:55:19.200000Z
Discovery magnitude (MPC) 20.50 G
Discovery observatory (MPC) G96 · University of Arizona Mt. Lemmon Survey
Osculating Elements
Parameter Value
Epoch (epoch_cal, TDB) 2022-01-04.0000000
e 1.00320001
q (au) 5.868420
a (au) -1833.877552
i (deg) 103.645272
Ω (om, deg) 291.528614
ω (w, deg) 44.307127
M (ma, deg) 0.001386

Magnitude

C/2020 K6 (Rankin) · Magnitude (Full range)

Scatter + Global Linear

$$ M_a = (10.183 + 2.419\cdot 2.5\log_{10} r) + \epsilon - 2.5\log_{10}\Phi(\theta) + 5\log_{10}\Delta $$ $$ \theta = 180^\circ - \alpha $$ $$ \Phi(\theta) = \frac{\delta_{90} D(\theta) + 1}{\delta_{90} + 1},\quad D(\theta) = k\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_f) + (1-k)\cdot \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g_b) $$ $$ \Phi_{HG}(\theta; g) = \left(\frac{1+g^2}{1+g^2-2g\cos\theta}\right)^{3/2},\quad \Phi_{HG}(90^\circ)=1 $$

Model Parameters

Parameter Value
H0 10.183
n 2.419
gf 0.999
gb -0.500
k 1.000
δ90 10.000
Parameter Symbol Range Description
Absolute magnitude at 1 AU from Sun and Earth H0 -5 to 20 Intrinsic brightness of the comet
Photometric slope parameter n 2 to 6 Rate of brightness change with heliocentric distance
Forward scattering asymmetry factor gf 0.8 to 1 Degree of forward scattering
Backward scattering asymmetry factor gb -1 to -0.5 Degree of backward scattering
Partitioning coefficient k 0.8 to 1 Ratio between forward/backward scattering contributions
Dust-to-gas brightness ratio δ90 1 to 10 Relative contribution of dust scattering to gas emission

Reference: EPSC-DPS2025-160

Ephemeris

Date/Time (UTC) RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) Nearest HIP Dist from HIP (arcmin)
2026-06-01 00:00 09:00:21.45 +57:44:16.6 HIP 43984 37.12
2026-06-01 12:00 09:00:26.40 +57:42:16.4 HIP 44492 35.53
2026-06-02 00:00 09:00:31.46 +57:40:16.4 HIP 44492 33.78
2026-06-02 12:00 09:00:36.62 +57:38:16.7 HIP 44492 32.07
2026-06-03 00:00 09:00:41.89 +57:36:17.2 HIP 44492 30.40
2026-06-03 12:00 09:00:47.25 +57:34:18.0 HIP 44492 28.77
2026-06-04 00:00 09:00:52.72 +57:32:19.1 HIP 44492 27.20
2026-06-04 12:00 09:00:58.29 +57:30:20.5 HIP 44492 25.70
2026-06-05 00:00 09:01:03.95 +57:28:22.1 HIP 44492 24.28
2026-06-05 12:00 09:01:09.72 +57:26:24.0 HIP 44492 22.94
2026-06-06 00:00 09:01:15.58 +57:24:26.2 HIP 44492 21.72
2026-06-06 12:00 09:01:21.54 +57:22:28.8 HIP 44492 20.64
2026-06-07 00:00 09:01:27.59 +57:20:31.6 HIP 44492 19.70
2026-06-07 12:00 09:01:33.74 +57:18:34.7 HIP 44492 18.95
2026-06-08 00:00 09:01:39.98 +57:16:38.1 HIP 44492 18.39
2026-06-08 12:00 09:01:46.32 +57:14:41.8 HIP 44492 18.05
2026-06-09 00:00 09:01:52.75 +57:12:45.8 HIP 44492 17.93
2026-06-09 12:00 09:01:59.27 +57:10:50.2 HIP 44492 18.06
2026-06-10 00:00 09:02:05.87 +57:08:54.8 HIP 44492 18.41
2026-06-10 12:00 09:02:12.57 +57:06:59.8 HIP 44492 18.98
2026-06-11 00:00 09:02:19.36 +57:05:05.1 HIP 44492 19.76
2026-06-11 12:00 09:02:26.23 +57:03:10.8 HIP 44492 20.70
2026-06-12 00:00 09:02:33.20 +57:01:16.8 HIP 44492 21.81
2026-06-12 12:00 09:02:40.24 +56:59:23.1 HIP 44492 23.04
2026-06-13 00:00 09:02:47.38 +56:57:29.7 HIP 44492 24.39
2026-06-13 12:00 09:02:54.59 +56:55:36.7 HIP 44492 25.83
2026-06-14 00:00 09:03:01.89 +56:53:44.1 HIP 44492 27.35
2026-06-14 12:00 09:03:09.27 +56:51:51.8 HIP 44492 28.94
2026-06-15 00:00 09:03:16.74 +56:49:59.9 HIP 44492 30.58
2026-06-15 12:00 09:03:24.28 +56:48:08.3 HIP 44223 31.10
2026-06-16 00:00 09:03:31.90 +56:46:17.1 HIP 44223 30.84
2026-06-16 12:00 09:03:39.60 +56:44:26.3 HIP 44223 30.74
2026-06-17 00:00 09:03:47.38 +56:42:35.8 HIP 44223 30.80
2026-06-17 12:00 09:03:55.24 +56:40:45.7 HIP 44223 31.02
2026-06-18 00:00 09:04:03.17 +56:38:56.0 HIP 44223 31.40
2026-06-18 12:00 09:04:11.17 +56:37:06.7 HIP 44223 31.93
2026-06-19 00:00 09:04:19.25 +56:35:17.7 HIP 44223 32.60
2026-06-19 12:00 09:04:27.40 +56:33:29.2 HIP 44223 33.41
2026-06-20 00:00 09:04:35.62 +56:31:41.0 HIP 44223 34.35
2026-06-20 12:00 09:04:43.91 +56:29:53.3 HIP 44778 33.48
2026-06-21 00:00 09:04:52.27 +56:28:05.9 HIP 44778 31.40
2026-06-21 12:00 09:05:00.70 +56:26:18.9 HIP 44778 29.33
2026-06-22 00:00 09:05:09.20 +56:24:32.4 HIP 44778 27.26